The fundamental 'formula' of Gestalt theory might be expressed in this way: There are wholes, the behavior of which is not determined by that of their individual elements, but where the part-processes are themselves determined by the intrinsic nature of the whole.

The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence.

There is only one real sin, and that is to persuade oneself that the second-best is anything but the second-best.

Objects have always been carried, sold, bartered, stolen, retrieved and lost. People have always given things to other people.